Pondering or Worrying?

Someone said that worry is misuse of the imagination. When it comes to worry, most of us have a great imagination. "What if...." thoughts come to us at all hours of the day and night. "What if my son doesn't get into college?" "What if I have cancer?" "What if ______" You can fill in the blank with your own latest worry.

It seems to be our nature as women to mull over things in our minds. When I've been to a party, I come home, crawl into bed-and then before I fall asleep, my mind goes over and over the events of the evening, remembering who was there, what we talked about, and-let's be honest-what they wore! Scripture says that after the shepherds came to Bethlehem to see the baby Jesus, Mary, His mother, "treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart" (Luke 2:19). I think this mulling tendency is part of women's nature

"Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything," Scripture tells us (Philippians 4:6, NLT). Prayer is the antidote to worry- In my experience, however, just praying once about something does little to keep me from worrying. Each time that worry comes back to my mind, I find I need to pray about it again. In fact, it works best for me if I do my worrying as part of my prayer, bringing God into the conversation and pouring out my heart's concerns to Him. The only way worry goes away is when I pray about the worry until God puts peace in my heart.

My favorite verses in the Bible about worry are those well-known ones in Matthew 6:25-34 where Jesus talks about the Father's care for the birds and the lilies. An anonymous poet summed them up well:

When the birds begin to worry, and the lilies toil and spin,
And God's creatures all are anxious, then I also may begin;
For my Father sets their table, decks themout in garments fine,
And if He supplies their living, will He not provide for mine?

The assurance that He will provide for all my needs brings peace to my worrying mind.

Take a Breath
Pastor and author Rick Warren says, "If you can worry, you can meditate, for worry is negative meditation." It's the focus of our thoughts that makes the difference between meditation and worry. When we focus our thoughts on God and His promises, our outlook changes. Life gets back into perspective. We will still think about the issues in our lives, but we bring God into the picture, and that makes all the difference in the world.

Teach me, Lord, to turn my worrying into praying.

This is an excerpt from Inspiring Words for Women by Darlene Sala, available at OMF Lit Bookshops, shop.omflit.com, Shopee, and Lazada for P215. Get it at 50% off until March 31.

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